Summer’s last stand: Beach-goers mark Labor Day as unofficial end of season // PHOTO GALLERY

By Scott Carroll / The News Herald

Published: Monday, September 2, 2013 at 03:27 PM.

“Got to use them now,” he said, parking the scooter near the shore. “Might as well save some cash, you know?”

Near the Gann family, 21-year-old Alex Good and several of his friends stomped through the sand while tossing footballs and frisbees to each other. Good, an auto parts store manager who is also from Dothan, Ala., said he’s spent Labor Day weekend in Panama City Beach since he was a teenager. He plans to come back soon, but said most of his friends will spend the next few months traveling for the holidays. The weekend was a good time to get everyone together, he said.

“Some of them have kids now and places to be and stuff like that, and that’s great, and we try to get everyone around while the weather’s still warm,” Good said.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms dampened the beach Monday, but didn’t stop Anthony Abadeer and his girlfriend from going to
Rick
Seltzer
Park
when conditions turned sunny. After a round of early morning showers left the beach soggy, Abadeer, 33, struggled to pull a cooler of beer through the sand, much to the amusement of his girlfriend, Lindsy Randall.

“Come on now, baby,” she said to him, teasing.

Eventually, Abadeer and his girlfriend set up towels and foldout chairs in the sand. Then they dug out a beer pong table and invited passersby to join them a for a few drinks. Both are from
Panama City
Beach
, and said Labor Day weekend is when they “reclaim the beach” for locals.

“It’s cool making new friends and partying with people over the summer,” Abadeer said, sipping his beer. “And we’re friendly. It’s just after a while we really do like to settle things down and walk on the beach, and go for some peace and quiet. We’ll see them next summer.”

PANAMA CITYBEACH — While his wife Jennifer napped under a beach umbrella, Tim Gann watched their 12-year-old son, Jason, slide his skim board across the water and ride across the surf near PierPark.

“We got him that a few days ago,” Tim Gann said, “and he’s getting pretty good.”

A moment later, Jason Gann flew from his skim board and crashed into the water, emerging with clumps of sand in his hair and a smile on his face.

“Well, he ain’t that good yet,” his father said.

The Gann family, of Dothan, Ala., was among several people on Panama City Beach on Monday making an end-of-summer trip to the shore, using the three-day holiday weekend for one last family adventure.

“We’ve been here a few times this summer, but won’t be coming back for a while now that school has started,” Tim Gann said. “We’re headed to Georgia for Thanksgiving and not really sure if we’ll be staying home for Christmas yet, so we figure it’s a good time to be together and have fun, and just be where we like to be ... .I love football season and the holidays and all that, but this is too good to pass up one last time.”

Along Front Beach Road, several surf and novelty shops advertised end-of-season sales. Jackson Felt, 23, was riding down FrontBeach on a rental scooter Monday afternoon, and had a cluster of discount swimming noodles under his arm.

“Got to use them now,” he said, parking the scooter near the shore. “Might as well save some cash, you know?”

Near the Gann family, 21-year-old Alex Good and several of his friends stomped through the sand while tossing footballs and frisbees to each other. Good, an auto parts store manager who is also from Dothan, Ala., said he’s spent Labor Day weekend in Panama City Beach since he was a teenager. He plans to come back soon, but said most of his friends will spend the next few months traveling for the holidays. The weekend was a good time to get everyone together, he said.

“Some of them have kids now and places to be and stuff like that, and that’s great, and we try to get everyone around while the weather’s still warm,” Good said.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms dampened the beach Monday, but didn’t stop Anthony Abadeer and his girlfriend from going to RickSeltzerPark when conditions turned sunny. After a round of early morning showers left the beach soggy, Abadeer, 33, struggled to pull a cooler of beer through the sand, much to the amusement of his girlfriend, Lindsy Randall.

“Come on now, baby,” she said to him, teasing.

Eventually, Abadeer and his girlfriend set up towels and foldout chairs in the sand. Then they dug out a beer pong table and invited passersby to join them a for a few drinks. Both are from Panama CityBeach, and said Labor Day weekend is when they “reclaim the beach” for locals.

“It’s cool making new friends and partying with people over the summer,” Abadeer said, sipping his beer. “And we’re friendly. It’s just after a while we really do like to settle things down and walk on the beach, and go for some peace and quiet. We’ll see them next summer.”